Kebine
Kebine is the Northeastern most country on the continent of Kebould, named after its capital city Kebine. It is a rich country, but extremely religious and unforgiving of heretics. Religious intolerance aside, Kebine could be considered the most free of the three countries, as both magic and races other than humans are allowed here. It is a progressive nation, not allowing practices such as slavery. History 891 years ago, Kebine was founded from the ashes of the cold dead empire of Kebould following the Thanatos Event. Kebould had, at the time, exploded leaving a power vacuum which Kebine was quick to take. Other cities, of course, attempted to take control of their regions as well but Kebine as a country was a bit too strong and crushed all others ruthlessly over the course of about 200 years until such time as the nation solidified into what it is today. To the east a similar situation occured with Kenyin, and to the south Kaboine. The people who remained following the aftermath of the Thanatos Event in the city of Kebine blamed the event on the lack of religious unity, and blamed heretics as the sole cause. As a result, Kebine adopted a stance of extreme religious conformity, stamping out all others in an attempt to both please the god Godthalanos and to prevent another Thanatos Event from ever happening again. Geography Kebine has an area of roughly 2000 square miles, though many cartographers disagree and will tell you a number of within +/- 300 square miles. It is shaped in a rough rectangular shape and is hemmed in on all sides by natural borders consisting of The Spinepoint Mountains in the north, the Great Bore Forest to the west, The Unbroken Heights to the east along with Kenyin, and The Scattered Mounts and the Keth River which guard both Kaboine and Kebine from each other. While small,the country is filled with unique features, including Cordos Lake, the Swamps of Keth, the Great Keth Lake, the Gorant Forest, the lake city Kebine, the Grados Forest, and various scattered mountains and hill ranges, as well as some volcanic activity scattered in the southwestern parts of the country. Politics Kebine is ruled by a religious theocracy of the religion of Godthalanos. The seat of power, located in Kebine, is controlled by the Arch-Pope, currently Hillarial Biton. Under the rule of the church, the country is taken care of in an almost socialist way, with the church having many community outreach programs, including barbecues following sacrifices, schooling, daycares, jobs, housing, and even medical care, all of which is provided for via taxes, tithes, and the benevolence of Godthalanos who blesses the gloried nation with plenty. The nation technically is not ruled by the Arch-Pope, but instead an emperor. It just so happens that the Arch-Pope is usually the emperor. This mode of rule, the religious head also being the monarchal head of an area, tends to filter down to smaller regions of the country even though there are no direct laws dictating this must be the case. At one point, there was a push against this sort of theocracy, a push to separate church and state. They were killed by angry mobs as they spoke ill of Godthalanos. Religion The nation of Kebine follows the religion of Godthalanos, worshiping the powerful force with primarily sacrifices. In order to stop another Thanatos Event, Kebine enforces a strict religious policy in the empire, killing any cults or other religions that arise, or at the very least, converting them to the correct stance. The power of Kebine does draw from the religion heavily. With the regular and impressive sacrifices, Godthalanos blesses Kebine with good harvests, good weather, and strong magic users on the regular. This in turn leads to Kebine being able to subjugate and convert more heretics, and lends to their fearful image.